Mini's

[HaplessWithDice]

Alright, this is something that probibly has been asked a dozen times before and probibly won't be going away any time soon but....
I know of Reaper miniatures line that works well for DND, but are there any other makes of fantasy minautres that I could use for my standard DND game. yes I know WotC makes those random assorted collections that are fairly inexpensive. I would gravitate tward those if they weren't so random! I have a fairly hard time finding the mini's that I need. Some aren't even made.
Before I go and do something stupid I just thought I would ask what the rest of you are doing for mini's?
As of right now I am looking to buy mini's of Animals, largely Druid animal compainions and Familars, plus general animals for confrontaitons. Plus bulk number of skeletons (perferably in plastic form as to be cheaper). Up till now I have been using glass counter beads of differing colors but that when I have more than 6 monsters out it gets hard to tell, or when I have large or bigger monsters.
What I have thought about doing is buying for bulk monsters Warhammer plastic kits because they seem fairly cheap and can easily cover the job of makeing a drow army, skeleton force, orc throw aways, or what ever. But that is only my thoughts, like I said I would like you guys input, as I am on a mini's for cheap buget and don't want to be getting stuff I realy don't need/want.

 

[was]

Use eBay

 

[Darrin Drader]

Use eBay

Yup!

I liie the randomness because they help me stock my minis collection with a wide variety that I can use for numerous types of encounters. But for the specific ones from a set, if I don't open them in the randomly assorted boxes that I buy, I ebay them. You can also find some seriously killer deals on Ebay. You can get complete common and uncommon sets for fairly cheap, and some of the rares also go for fairly reasonable prices there.

Still a little stung about the $40 I spent on that beholder though.

 

[Steel_Wind]

Three of us in my gaming cricle now (I just chimed in with the addiction) are collecting D&D minis now.

Two of my players have been collecting D&D minis since Harbinger was first released. They have bought two to two-and-a-half cases per set, each, and equalized the results so that they each have a complete set (or ar every very close and fill in a few missing rares from online sales).

One of them buys commons and uncommons from online and local sources in large volume.

As a result - we have between 5500 and 6000 minis at this point at our group's disposal - literally 2 of every mini yet released and in most cases vastly more than that when it comes to commons and uncommons.

Our gaming group consists mostly of guys in their late 30s and early 40s - most of whom have larger disposable incomes than younger gamers. While spending $800 a year on minis (for three complete XPs) is not an option for everyone - I can certainly confirm that the flexibility and vast selection of figs is awesome to play with.

We have a few thousand lead and lead/pewter figs from days gone by -of which only 15% -20% or so are painted. I would never go back to lead now - plastic is too convenient, wears well and can be purchased in large numbers for vast armies inexpensively.

 

[Darrin Drader]

As a result - we have between 5500 and 6000 minis at this point at our group's disposal - literally 2 of every mini yet released and in most cases vastly more than that when it comes to commons and uncommons.

Dang, I thought I had a lot. I have complete sets, from the randomly asorted packs, for all the sets through Aberrations. I'm estimating that I have about 2,000 minis, which I keep in these plastic bins I biought from Wal-Mart. As of Deathknell, I've started just buying two or three boosters and the monsters that I can't live without. I just don't need all those PC minis anymore.

 

[HaplessWithDice]

Well that is all well and good, but I don't think WotC has realised mini's for...
cat, rat, bat, toad, wolf, direwolf, horse, lion, tiger, ferrit, hawk, eagle, owl, or any thing realitivily normal like that. My druids are going buggy because I have almost mistaken the little red bead for their wolf, for a monster bead.

 

[Steel_Wind]

BTW - for armies? Check out www.popularcollections.com

There are always 3 or 4 commons per set that have great army potential and limited use for those who play the miniatures game. They appear in large numbers online and can typically be picked up for .30 to .60 cents a piece.

Right now, in Angelfire, the Caravan guards are a great "army" mini. They are common, in large supply, and are currently priced at .69 a piece online. There are others as well.

You can problably find them for cheaper I expect as well.

$20-25 spent on a bag of Caravan Guards yields a large pool of soldiers to depict an army during play. They are pre-painted and look great. No muss - no fuss - you are done.

The time you will spend painting - and the money - you will spend on Warhammer plastic figs will not touch the bang for the buck on Caravan Guards - and those ones are relatively pricey for commons. I've seen very useful commons in the .30 cent range routinely at Popular Collections. Undead, humanoids - whatever - they are available in large supply. Just keep your eye on each set as it is released.

 

[Steel_Wind]

Well that is all well and good, but I don't think WotC has realised mini's for...
cat, rat, bat, toad, wolf, direwolf, horse, lion, tiger, ferrit, hawk, eagle, owl, or any thing realitivily normal like that. My druids are going buggy because I have almost mistaken the little red bead for their wolf, for a monster bead.

Rat, wolves, dogs, dire wolves, frogs, horse (admittedly mounted by a Paladin) & lion have all been released as D&D minis to date.

There are a few tiny minis in each set. The Imps and Vargouilles in the current Angelfire can stand in for a lot of critters.

 

[HaplessWithDice]

I have also considered buying Mage knight mini's and poping them off those round click bases and regluing them to new bases because of some of the Unusal monsters I use, and let's face it a lizard rideing barbarian just look uber cool.
But as I said right now I am looking for not just common army but also animals. Does anyone actualy use a mini for the druid's wolf companion, and the sorcerers cat familar?

 

[HaplessWithDice]

Rat, wolves, dogs, dire wolves, frogs, horse (admittedly mounted by a Paladin) & lion have all been released as D&D minis to date.

There are a few tiny minis in each set. The Imps and Vargouilles in the current Angelfire can stand in for a lot of critters.

Thanks Steel that is helpful. I will try to round those up. As I said I can pop a few mage knight figures off of bases, I actualy bought them because the store I shoped carried those but not the DND minis and I thought they could be used for DND, turns out the bases are just a little too big.